Instant lottery games are well known and widely practiced. Indeed, they represent a $15 billion industry in the United States. A typical instant lottery game is implemented using a ticket, which includes a background section and a play section. The background section usually includes the name of the game, instructions for playing the game, information describing winning combinations, and associated payouts that may be won by a player. It may also include other miscellaneous information such as the price of the ticket and the name of the entity sponsoring the game.
The play section of the ticket usually includes one or more play areas, each of which contains outcome indicia. The outcome indicia are typically compared to the winning combinations to determine whether the ticket is a winner, as is described in more detail below. The outcome indicia are generally obscured from the view of players and vendors selling the tickets by an alterable opaque covering surface, such as latex.
The background and play sections of the ticket often are designed in accordance with a theme of the instant lottery game. Attributing the theme to the game is intended to make the game appear more interesting and exciting to the players. To this end, the background section generally is designed to reflect the theme and is made to be colorful and fanciful. The outcome indicia and the alterable opaque covering surface of the play section also are usually designed in accordance with the theme.
For example, a theme for an instant lottery game may be slot machines. In this case, the background of the ticket may include a name such as "LUCKY SEVENS" printed in a fanciful font. It may also include a picture or symbol of a slot machine. The set of possible outcome indicia might include symbols that are customarily used by slot machines, such as cherries, lemons, oranges, and bars. Other popular themes include blackjack, bingo, monopoly, or general money themes like "break the bank," or "road to riches."
Regardless of the game theme and the particular design of the ticket, instant lottery games are generally played in the same manner. More specifically, to play a typical game, a player removes the alterable opaque covering surface from a play area of the ticket to reveal the outcome indicia. This may be done, for example, using a coin or other suitable means to scratch off a covering surface such as latex. The outcome indicia themselves often indicate the payout. Typically, six outcome indicia are revealed, with the player winning a payout if three of the outcome indicia match each other. If three matching outcome indicia are not present, the ticket is a loser and there is no payout to the player.
Instant lottery games can be classified into one of two categories--that is, standard games and probability games. The standard games category include non-probability games in which a ticket, at the time it is sold to a player, is predetermined as a winner or a loser. Thus, with standard, non-probability instant lottery games, every ticket is not a potential winner.
The second category of instant lottery games are probability games in which every ticket is a potential winner. One such probability game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,205, issued to Behm et al. As disclosed in that patent, a ticket for such a probability game includes multiple play areas. Each play area contains outcome indicia indicative of a dollar amount. The outcome indicia are covered by a removable latex material.
To play this probability game, a player removes the latex material from a predetermined number of play areas, which is less than the total number of play areas. If the revealed outcome indicia match a predetermined combination, then the ticket is a winner and the player can redeem it for a payout. In this case, the payout is the dollar amount indicated by the outcome indicia. However, if the revealed outcome indicia do not match a predetermined combination, then the player loses the game and the ticket has no redeemable value. The ticket is voided if the player removes the latex from more than the predetermined number of play areas.
The popularity of probability-type instant lottery games with players can be attributed to the fact that, for such probability games, every ticket is a possible winner. The player thus feels as though he has an element of control since he is free to choose those play areas that will be played. If a player has lost the game, he can remove the remaining latex to confirm that at least one winning combination is present on the ticket, which leaves the player with a feeling that the game is fair.
The standard instant lottery games described above suffer from a number of problems. First, the games typically only require that a player remove some of the opaque covering surfaces of a ticket. The player need not make any decisions during the game, even the most basic one concerning which of the play areas will be played. This results in a perception that the games are based on pure luck. Further, these games tend to be simplistic and boring to the players. While the probability games offer an opportunity for the player to make this basic decision, these games still are based on pure luck and do not allow a player to use strategy to improve his chance of achieving a favorable outcome for the game.
Another problem with known instant lottery games is that the amount of time it takes to play such game is usually quite short. In most cases, the player simply purchases a ticket and alters the opaque covering surface. There is no opportunity to ponder game strategies and make decisions based thereon that may affect the outcome and extend the life of the game.
Unlike prior art instant lottery games, video poker is a game that gives a player control to exercise skill by considering game strategies and making decisions based thereon that will affect the outcome of the game. Video poker games, which are generally played in gaming establishments, have become extremely popular and are quite exciting. In fact, they are one of the fastest growing segments of casino revenue.
The basic game of video poker is played on a computerized video poker machine. A player is dealt an initial hand of five cards from a standard deck of fifty-two cards. The five cards are randomly chosen by a computer and displayed to the player on a video screen. With a goal of maximizing the value of his hand, the player decides which cards, if any, to hold. Given the initial hand, the player may decide to hold all five of his cards--i.e., stand. To do this, he presses a button labeled HOLD under each displayed card.
Alternatively, the player may decide to hold only certain of the five cards dealt to him in his initial hand. In this case, the player presses the HOLD button under each card he decides to hold. After the player has decided which cards to hold, he press a button labeled DEAL. This causes the computer to discard the cards that the player has decided not to hold, and replace them with additional cards that are randomly selected from the remaining forty-seven cards of the deck.
After the DEAL button has been pressed, the final hand of the player is evaluated by the computer. If the player's final hand matches a predetermined combination--e.g., a Full House or Three of a Kind, then the player is awarded a payout in the form of either play credits or coins in accordance with a payout table. The payout table is stored in the memory of the computer and is also displayed on the video screen for the player to view. The payout for a particular final hand increases with the value of the hand. Thus, hands with higher poker values are awarded more play credits or coins. For example, very rare poker hands such as a Royal Flush are awarded payouts of 800-to-1 in some game variations.
The payouts for video poker games are typically selected to generate a profit for the game operator. The payouts are multiplied by the frequency (or probability) that a player will receive an associated hand to determine the expected value of the game. FIG. 11 depicts a payout table 1100 for a "Jacks or Better" video poker game. The payout table 1100 includes columns 1105, 1110, 1115, and 1120 and rows A-K. For ease of reference, a particular location within this and other tables herein will be referred to by their column number and row letter. Such locations will be referred to herein as "cells." Cells 1105A-1105J each indicate a final hand that is possible for a player to receive, given an initial set (or hand) of five cards. Cells 1110A-1110J each depict the frequency (or probability) that the player will receive the associated final hand. These frequencies assume that the player is employing strategies that maximize the expected value of each play. Cells 1115A-1115J each indicate a payout (or prize) that the associated final hand will pay if it is received. Cells 1120A-1120J each depict an expected value of the associated final hand, given the associated payout.
The expected value for a cell 1120A-1120J is calculated by multiplying the associated frequency from a cell 1110A-1110J by the associated payout from cell 1115A-1115J, respectively. For example, the expected value for a Royal Flush ($0.0199) is calculated by multiplying the frequency of cell 1110A (0.0000249) by the associated payout ($800) shown in cell 1115A. The total expected value illustrated in cell 1120K ($0.9949) represents the dollar amount returned to the player over an extended period of time. For this particular payout schedule, the player will receive 99.49 cents for each dollar wagered. This payout requires perfect play, however, so many players will receive a few cents less on average. A total expected value of more than $1.00 would represent a video poker machine in which the player had an advantage over the operator thereof. Some games having an expected value of more than $1.00 still can be profitable for the gaming establishment if the majority of players are not playing perfectly.
In addition to the basic game of video poker described above, other variations which include wild cards and jokers are also played, such as "Joker Poker," "Deuces Wild," and "Bonus Poker." Further information on these and other video poker games, payout tables and calculations, and game strategies may be found in Paymar, D., "Video Poker Precision Play," (published by Enchanceware of Las Vegas, Nev.).
The popularity of video poker games may be attributed to the player's ability to exercise an element of skill during the game. More particularly, by deciding which cards to hold from an initial hand, the player makes a decision that directly affects the outcome of the game. Thus, this exercise of an element of skill tends to keep the players interested in the game. Further, the players are also attracted to the potential to receive a high payout, as compared to other casino games, such as craps and blackjack.
However, video poker games have major drawbacks. First, while many variations of such games exist, each variation is computer- and video-based. Thus, the games require complex electronic apparatus, which can be prohibitively expensive. Moreover, video poker games typically can be played only in a controlled gaming environment.
One patent that attempts to combine an instant lottery ticket with a game of poker is U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,109 to Gumina. According to this patent, a player scratches off an area to reveal an initial hand of cards. The ticket includes twenty-five other areas that indicate cards that can be kept from the initial hand. The player draws additional cards from one of the twenty-five areas in an effort to improve the value of his final hand. The result of the game is determined based on this value.
However, the Gumina patent is plagued with problems that likely have resulted in reduced player interest in the game. More specifically, the number of areas from which the player can draw cards is numerous. This leaves the ticket cluttered, confusing, and visually unappealing.
Further, for any given initial poker hand, there are usually only a few reasonable choices of cards to draw in order to optimize the final value of the hand. The ticket disclosed in the Gumina patent presents a player with twenty-five choices. Thus, it is not in the player's best interest to select a majority of the choices because they lessen--rather than increase--the player's chance of optimizing the final value of his hand. To a typical player who is not an expert poker player, this can be discouraging. Even further, due to the confusing nature of the layout of the ticket, a player may accidentally uncover an unintended area. This may leave the player feeling cheated and frustrated.
Still further, the ticket disclosed in the Gumina patent limits the cards that a player can draw. This is because the draw cards include only certain cards from the remainder of the deck from which the initial hand was dealt. Thus, a player does not have any control over the cards that he can draw in order to obtain a desired final hand. For example, if a player decides to draw certain cards in an attempt to obtain a Flush, there is no guarantee that the ticket includes draw cards that would enable him to obtain the Flush.
In view of the above, what is needed in order to increase player interest in instant lottery games is a ticket in which a player is guided to the best choices for him to select and in which he also is given an opportunity to select choices from a universe of choices that are not preselected by the manufacturer of the ticket.